Sunday August 18 - A large cross-section of environmental and conservation groups has called on the Government to “put the brakes on fracking”. In a letter in today’s Sunday Times (1), the NGOs - including the Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, WWF and Greenpeace– say protests in Balcombe, Sussex are not an isolated case of local dissent, but emblematic of concern shared by many of their members about the threat fracking poses to communities and the environment. This is the first time such a large number of influential NGOs has joined together to urge the Government to stop its headlong rush into fracking, and the first time the Wildlife Trusts have spoken out nationally. It comes after RSPB yesterday issued its first formal objections to fracking proposals in Balcombe and Lancashire. (2) “If we embrace fracking to the degree proposed by the Coalition, the UK will be left with a gas-d...